I was doing a report on the Chestnut Oak today, and remembered something I thought should be followed up on. At one point, I noted that more than 90% of the Chestnut oak trunks had dead caterpillars on them. All of them just dead, stopped in their tracks. Below is one example I photographed. Today I did a google search, and from what I'm seeing there is a fungus amongst us that kills the gypsy moth caterpillars (spongy moth to be politically correct).
biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu
entomophagus fungi (Entomophaga maimaiga Humber, Shimazu & R. S. Soper, 1988)
Image 5620009 is of entomophagus fungi (Entomophaga maimaiga Humber, Shimazu & R. S. Soper, 1988) biological control on spongy moth (formerly gypsy moth). It is by Steven Katovich. Group of dead desiccated caterpillars, most of these were killed by Entomophaga. There are two at the top that were...
www.insectimages.org
